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I just came home from the planning sesh for letter D. We were joking around that we don’t really use the Peaceful Preschool curriculum, we’re following more of a Pinterest curriculum. Which is kind of true.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Peaceful Preschool and all that it offers, and it’s been a great jumping off point for each letter, but the way I am approaching our homeschooling requires a lot of altering.

A) We started in the middle of summer, not in the fall like people traditionally tend to do, so some of the things just don’t line up. For example, we couldn’t go apple picking for A.

B) We’re stretching each letter out to two weeks. If I want to do an activity/art project for each day I have to come up with a bunch of supplemental ideas. And my munchkin isn’t about to let me get away with not having something planned. He’s THRILLED about “home preschool” and is constantly asking what we’re doing next. I admit to jacking some of Simply Learning’s ideas for stretching out the letters, but even still I have to come up with things to do.

C) I’m not really concerned with his gross motor skills, we’re not in any way religious, and most of the recipes aren’t something my kid is going to eat. So half of the curriculum right there is gone. Gotta replace it all with something.

Enter Pinterest. Put in a semi popular children’s book title and I promise you at least one person has put together a blog post of activities you can do with it. Someone else has made worksheets to go with it. If your kid is into arts and crafts you’re set. Put in preschool worksheet paired with literally anything you can think of and you have bajillions of free options at your fingertips. If your kid likes completing worksheets you’re set. Put in preschool paired with any theme you can think of and you’ve got sensory activities, science experiments, field trip ideas, ways to decorate a room, book suggestions, and outfit pairings. Basically, you’re set. Pinterest is an amazing resource, and also a major time suck.

I don’t really feel like I have a handle on this preschooling thing yet, and I am SO glad we also send Bear to a private preschool during the year so I don’t feel the pressure of being the only one who’s going to be able to teach him to read, but I think I’m starting to get there. Bear is having fun, and Rue is too, and I feel like they’re learning things even if by accident. And that’s kind of the point of homeschooling right? Learning without stress, in a fun way?

I just need to get better at assembling my activities ahead of time. Instead of scrambling for supplies ten seconds after promising we’re going to do something. Goals for D.

For example:
-if you put a bowl of apples on the table, be prepared to eat six of them
-Bear can blow through sixteen worksheet/art projects in about 30 minutes. So starting at seven is ill advised
-prepping the night before is essential
-artwork is not going to look how you want it to look. He is three.
-Rue will get into the art supplies the second you turn your back
-independent work isn’t a thing yet…
-home preschool is a strong motivator for getting dressed and brushing teeth in the morning
-its fun to watch how much fun they’re having

Hi! I’m Evelyn. I’m a stay at home mom to two (soon to be three) munchkins. I spend my days making sure my kids don’t hurt themselves or each other, fetching pre packaged snacks, and staring at the lives of other stay at home moms on Instagram. Mom’s who have their lives figured out.

You know the ones I’m talking about. They have six kids, all of whom they homeschool, their houses look perfectly curated, and they probably raise bees while volunteering at the soup kitchen on the side. Plus they have cute clothes and perfect haircuts.

I want to be that mom. But will settle for being a quarter like that mom.

In an effort to reach that goal one of my favorite fellow moms, Meaghan, and I have decided to attempt to homeschool our munchkins. We’ve gone all in. We purchased the Peaceful Preschool curriculum, we’ve met twice (TWICE I TELL YA!) to start the planning, we’ve set up space in our homes for it, we bought new art supplies, and we’ve made apple pompoms.

Letter A better be ready for us. Come Monday we’re starting this circus.